Card games have enjoyed varying degrees of popularity throughout the years. A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played. A traditional deck of cards is typically comprised of four suits (Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades) of thirteen cards in each suit. The thirteen (13) cards range from two (2) through ten (10) showing a corresponding number of suit icons on the face of each card, and four face cards (Jack, Queen, King and Ace). During play in a typical game the cards are increasingly valued from the two (lowest value) to the ace (highest value). Oftentimes an ace can be valued either high (above the king) or low (below the two). The suits can also be ranked in power such that each card in the deck has a unique valuation for the purpose of determining which individual card in a determinative subset of cards is the highest ranking or most powerful card.
While many card games have become popular parlor games played in social groups for entertainment and social value, a number of games and variants thereof have also been adapted as casino games during which the players bet money and the casino derives an element of income therefrom either by collecting a rake or by having a so-called House hand included in the play. The most popular games played in casinos are Poker, Blackjack, Baccarat and variants of these games. In a typical game, a plurality of cards are dealt to the players who then, in turn, bet on the relative value of the subset of cards that they hold in their hand with respect to the unknown subset of cards the other players or the House hold(s). The games have become enormously popular live, online, via electronic casino machines and, increasingly, via mobile device applications. Poker is so popular that there are huge subsets of card players who actually make their living playing cards.
Various Indian tribes operate casinos on tribal land to provide employment and revenue for their government and their tribe members. Tribal gaming is regulated on the tribal, state and federal level. Federal regulation of Indian gaming was established under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. Under the provisions of that law, games are divided into three distinct categories: Class I games are “traditional” games that involve little or no wagering; Class II games include certain non-banked card games, including Poker; and Class III games include all casino games (e.g., Craps, Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat and Slot Machines), and other games where the player bets against the House.
Unfortunately, conventional Poker is one of the less profitable uses of space for a casino. In so-called Class II gaming, players are competing against each other rather than against the House. Thus, for example, before a Class II slot machine game can be played, there must be at least two players who are playing at the same time. On the other hand, in so-called Class III gaming, players are competing against the House. There are a host of limitations associated with a Class II designation.
With regard to Poker-based games, Class II casinos are very limited in the types of games that can be offered, since the games must be dictated by Player vs. Player style play. For instance, Class III casinos are able to offer “Player vs. House” style play for Poker-based table games such as, for example, PAI GOW POKER, CARIBBEAN STUD POKER and CRAZY 4 POKER. By comparison, Class II casinos are generally limited to House-dealt “Player vs. Player” style cash games and tournament play.
Typically, the casino profitability (based upon casino game floor space) of Class III type Poker games is greater than it is for Class II type Poker games. This is due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to:
(1) Speed of play—Class II Poker games are typically more slowly paced than Class III Poker table games. Class II Poker games tend to be relatively slow because bet selection can take a long time and the variety of decisions that make the game so strategically stimulating also stifle play.
(2) House rake limits—This aforementioned relatively slow rate of game play, necessarily results in a respective limit to the frequency at which House rakes occur. Furthermore, conventional Class II Poker games typically incorporate limited (relatively low percentage) House rakes vis-à-vis Class III Poker-based and other table games, which generally have a much higher vigorish (built in house percent advantage or edge).
(3) Player friendliness—Casino patrons are more apt to be intimidated by Class II Poker games than they are by Class III Poker table style games. Since conventional Poker games, such as those typically played in Class II casinos, necessarily require patrons to have a minimum skill level to have even the slightest chance of profiting against more skilled players, there is a tendency for novice players to shy away from participating. As a result, the potential patron participation pool for conventional Poker games played in Class II casinos is severely restricted compared with table-based Class III casino counterpart games.
Therefore, there has been a constant drive by operators of Class II casinos in the gaming industry to derive ways of increasing profitability of floor games vis-à-vis floor space.
Therefore, there is a long felt but unmet need in the industry for a Class II qualified Poker-style casino game that is more profitable for the casino to operate, yet provides the player with the independent betting experience similar to Poker where the betting rules are not as structured and restrained as with other table games and wherein the pace of the game is more rapid than that of conventional Player vs. Player style Poker. It would be highly desirable to provide such a game that is more inviting to less experienced Poker players by greatly reducing the required skill level (i.e., leveling the playing field), eliminates the ability for more experienced players to bluff (thereby, encouraging players to tend to play to completion of the hand), provides multiple opportunities for each player to win, taps into player curiosity (i.e., so-called rabbit hunting), eliminates the potential for player collusion, is adapted for play on a standard Blackjack or Mini-Baccarat style table, can be played with a progressive jackpot (player funded), can be House-banked or non-banked, can be played with a minimum of two players, and can be easily adapted to be implemented into a slot machine.